Thursday, January 24, 2013

A plea from the friends of the Janet Frame house

In need of a little TLC: the Janet Frame House at Oamaru

I received this email from the friends of the Janet Frame House in Oamaru, and I'm happy to recommend this cause for anyone who feels inspired to take part in a little "crowdfunding" to help with some much-needed maintenance:

22 January 2013

Kia ora

The Trustees of 56 Eden Street are writing to you because you are either a
supporter, friend, a student of our writing programme, or visitor to 56 Eden
Street, the childhood home of Janet Frame.

Like all veterans of a certain age there comes a time when the usual day to
day care is not enough to sustain you. Our wonderful haven celebrating Janet
Frame is showing her age and needs more than a little TLC.

We are extremely grateful for support we receive from friends, donors and
visitors and these contributions help us with the day to day expenses each
year. Earlier last year it was discovered that the window frames all needed
replacing as they were rotten then later in 2012 much to our horror it was
discovered the plumbing needed extensive repairs as well.

We are trying to raise $6000 to cover the repairs bills for both sets of
repairs and to tidy up after them.

Give a Little is an approved charitable platform, now sponsored by
Telecom. This sponsorship means every cent donated goes to the cause you
intended it for. It is also a secure site that transfers the funds safely to
the charity.

We are asking the community of support for 56 Eden Street to 'give a
little' to enable us to fundraise the amount to repair the property and keep it
available to visit and store memories.

Please visit Give a Little on this link and donate to Fix our House by clicking on the blue Donate now button about the middle of your screen:

About Me

A literary executor is the person entrusted with caring for the literary estate of a deceased author. The role of 'keeper of the flame' involves managing the late author's copyright and other intellectual property rights, and making decisions about their personal papers and their published and unpublished work.
How did I get to be Janet Frame's literary executor? She was my aunt, and close friend, and she asked me to do it. When I agreed, she named me co-executor of her will, and appointed me as one of the trustees of her charitable trust, The Janet Frame Literary Trust.
When I first started this blog I named it with the wordplay "Slightly Framous" to suggest the small degree of fame (or notoriety, from the point of view of those who resent the legal authority of the executor) that attaches accidentally to someone like me, who becomes a footnote in the story of a great author. This blog was also for a time named "Janet on the Planet" after an expression Janet Frame sometimes used when signing her name.